Since publishing last month’s editorial calling for fossil fuel companies to pay for the climate damage they’ve inflicted and continue to inflict on the planet, we have witnessed some interesting responses here at The Westsider.
Many people have reached out to congratulate us on our stance (you can read some of the responses in the Your Voice section). But The Westsider has also suddenly become the target of hackers. In the weeks after publishing the editorial our website has been under constant attack from nefarious sources, some based in countries as far away as Bulgaria. Coincidence? Who’s to know for sure.
It’s no secret that fossil fuel companies have for decades been coordinating efforts to lobby governments and spread misinformation to undermine climate science. They do this via a network of ‘think tanks’, many of which are based in Australia. Big oil has poured billions of dollars into this campaign.
The ABC’s business reporter Gareth Hutchens explains in good detail the history of these networks.
In the age of social media their efforts have ramped up and translate to a vast online network of hackers, bots, trolls, and “astroturfing” (fake grassroots campaigns – especially anti-wind turbines) designed to disrupt, spread misinformation, bully, and delay global action on climate change and renewable energy.
While many Australian politicians have drunk and spread the FF kool-aid for decades, the Australian government seems to finally be taking the issue seriously. In July last year the Senate appointed a select committee to investigate information integrity on climate change and energy.
Does all this secret lobbying work? You betcha. Thanks to Independent Senator David Pocock we now know that Australian beer drinkers pay more tax (2.7 billion a year) than international gas companies (1.5 billion). And, despite revelations that US miner Alcoa has cleared native forests in Western Australia without approval between 2019 and 2025, the Federal Government has just granted them a ‘national interest’ exemption from national environmental laws for another 18 months. Nice.
You can be sure that in the lead up to November’s state election, attempts to spread lies about climate science and renewable energy will be accelerated via community Facebook pages and other social media networks. Already I’ve noticed an increase of anti-renewable bots spreading false information in local groups (to spot a bot, look for recently created accounts with very few friends and little-to-no original, personal content).
So am I surprised by the surge in attacks on The Westsider’s website? Not at all.
